Today's trip started out being inspired by Paddy's recent images of Frog-mouths. I haven't seen one in years so I made it my mission to go look for some!
Not all trips can be a raging success, but that depends on what you rate as sucess. Today I went out looking for three things - a Tawny Frog-mouth and some Wedge-tailed eagles, followed by some wild dogs, (Dingoes).
Praise God I managed to get all of these, but most only from great distance.The best thing was that the Frogmouth had a chick sitting under it's breast and I managed to get a great angle on them both. Another great shot was when the chick turned sideways and stretched out a beautiful patterned wing.
The wedge tailed eagles were a mated pair, hanging around two possible nests in Canberra's mountains. I didn't have much time out there today, so the photos were just not worth processing. They are very smart birds and a photographer in a hurry is just too conspicuous. The good thing is that now I know where the nests are, I can go back at a later date and set myself up quietly so as not to distress the birds and take my time waiting for a good shot.
I staked out some wild dog dens and some open grassland for about half and hour once I got right out into the valley, but as I was pushed for time, I had to call it a day and head home. I told God I loved Him anyway and about ten minutes after that a beautiful pair of ears appeared over a knoll,followed by the rest of the Dingo keenly watching my egress form the valley. I took a long shot with the big lens, but alas it was just too far. I actually recognised it from a previous visit so it's good to see some long-term residents.
The only shot I thought was worth rescuing of the eagles on the way out was this one. (picture 3) It was a tiny portion of the entire frame, but a perfect silhouette. I had a bit of creative fun with it in Photoshop to flash it up a bit as art, rather than photography. I know lens flare can look cheap, but you know what, remove the colour and it looks OK.
So I didn't get everything I hoped for, yet I did. Confused much?
Beautiful photos Baz. I love the first one of the Frogmouths in particular and I really like the Eagle silhouette. The second one would be perfect but for that branch. A good haul indeed!
